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TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITYMPA MAgAzINE

2017-2018

32

MPA, Texas State University | 2017 MPA,Texas State University | 2017

Program news 6Diversity 15Hobby Center 16Graduates 32Internship Opportunities 33Study Abroad 35Faculty Publications 36Program Faculty & Council 38

4 Director’s CornerA messsage from Dr. Rangarajan.

10 Student life: In the MPA Program Perspectives of current students.

13 Leading a Faith Based Non-Profit Organization A piece by Dr. Patrcia Shields.

18 Hog Wild ConferenceThe Center for Research, Public Policy, and Training

20 San Marcos PovertyDr. Thomas Longoria looks into poverty in the city of San Marcos.

23 Public Administration Abroad: BarcelonaPublic Administration students Travel to Barcelona, Spain with Dr. Hassan Tajalli.

26 Alumni SpotlightJames Harkins, Jason and Samantha Alexander and Mitchell Sellers

34 Dr. Brian WithrowA former student of the MPA program and his success.

2017 Editor: Morgan Moore

54


A MESSAGE FROM DR. RANGARAJAN Hello Everyone! I hope you enjoy this latest edition

of the MPA magazine which covers several exciting

events that have occurred in 2017 and celebrates the

wonderful accomplishments of my colleagues, current

students and alumni of the MPA program.

As most of you are probably aware, as of August

2017, I took over the directorship of the MPA program

from Interim Director Dr. Patricia Shields. As I step

into this role, I draw inspiration from the stability,

rigor, attention to detail and unflinching commitment

she showed in her almost two-decade stint as direc-

tor. I have also had the opportunity to observe Dr.

Thomas Longoria’s energy, enthusiasm, commit-

ment to student success and innovative approaches

to revamping the MPA program during his tenure

as director. I hope to give my all as well in this role

which comes with immense responsibility and oppor-

tunity. In the few months that I have been director,

I have specifically derived a lot of fulfillment inter-

acting closely with potential, current and former stu-

dents. I look forward to more such opportunities as I

continue on this year.

The Texas State MPA program went through a rigor-

ous reaccreditation review in the spring of 2017. The

site-visit team in charge of reaccreditation met with

our students, alumni, staff and faculty in Austin and

San Marcos. Thanks to the efforts of our alumnus

James Quintero, we were able to host the team for

interviews with alumni at the stunning Texas Public

Policy Foundation in Downtown Austin.

The accreditation team was particularly impressed

with the remarkably large turnout of alumni and the

wonderful things our former students had to say about

our faculty and program in general. The strong bond

we have with our alumni and the goodwill we enjoy

from them did not go unnoticed. The team also took

a tour of our gorgeous campus and met with univer-

sity administrators and other important entities before

making a decision.

Overall they were very impressed with the strengths

and rigor of our program. They made special mention

of the real world implications of student research that

emerged from our program. They took note of Liz

Ascot’s Applied Research Project, a cost benefit anal-

ysis of Wonder World Drive as they were driven on

Wonder World Drive to campus. They were appre-

ciative of the fact that our program operated with rel-

ative ease across three locations, with limited staff

support and had a cohesive set of course offerings

through face-to-face, fully online and hybrid teach-

ing modalities. Our program has been a NASPAA

accredited program in central Texas for almost four

decades and that tradition continues as we have been

reaccredited for another seven years.

In 2018 we hope to fill two faculty lines, continue to

develop our strengths in online teaching, increase our

research productivity, and continue offering experi-

ences to our students that balance research and prac-

tice. We are hopeful that this year will be very excit-

ing in terms of teaching, research and service to the

profession and community.

76


Dr. Billy Fields

Professor, Department of Political Science

Texas State University

Luke Scott

“Campus Carry Policy: A Study of Perceptions of Students, Faculty,

and Staff at Texas State University”

Dr. Nandhimi Rangarajan (Faculty Advisor)

David Anderson

“A Descriptive Analysis of Frequent Users of an Urban Emergency

and Medical Services System”

Dr. Hassan Tajalli (Faculty Advisor)

AWARDS2017

DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION EDUCATOR

JAMES W. MCGREW RESEARCH

AWARD RECIPIENTS

WILLIAM P. HOBBY INTERNSHIP FELLOWSHIP

Tyler Blakey

Dilini Wimalasuriya

PROGRAM NEWS

The 2017 Publ ic Service

Recognition Awards Banquet took

place on May 17th just steps away

from the state capitol at the Austin

Club. Sponsored by the CenTex

Chapter of the American Society of

Public Administration (ASPA) the

annual event recognizes and cele-

brates the people and programs of

government, education, nonprofit,

and advocacy sectors meeting the

needs of Central Texas.

Texas State faculty, staff, and alumni

gathered together with CenTex

members from The LBJ School

of Public Affairs and Texas A&M

University. Jenifer Sarver, founder

of Sarver Strategies, provided the

evening’s keynote address. Ms.

Public Service Recognition Week Ceremony Honors Texas State Public Administration Students and Faculty

Sarver’s distinguished career spans

the corporate, nonprofit, and polit-

ical worlds and she has nearly two

decades of experience in media

relations, crisis communications,

speechwriting, coalition building,

and media and presentation skills

training. She spoke on Civility in

Public Discourse. Sarver concluded

the talk with a challenge to members:

“We each have to be responsible

for our words and actions -- and

what we allow around us. Silence

in the face of incivility emboldens,

empowers and perpetuates it.”

The banquet also celebrated out-

standing achievements in the public

sector. Among those recognized

were MPA faculty member Dr. Billy

Fields, who received the award for

Distinguished Public Administration

Educator. Recent graduates Luke

Scott and David Anderson were

honored with the prestigious James

W. McGrew Research Award for

work done as part of their Applied

Research Projects while at Texas

State. Marilyn Balanoff presented

seven current PA students with the

Balanoff Family Scholarship. The

evening concluded by inducting

new student members into the Public

Administration Honor Society, Pi

Alpha Alpha.

98


Public Service Recognition Week

Each year the President and Congress designate the first full week of May as Public Service Recognition Week in honor of the men and women who serve America as federal, state, county and local government employees. Public Service Recognition Week highlights the accomplishments of the dedicated public ser-vants who work tirelessly on behalf of all Americans and who rarely get the credit they deserve. For more information about the Public Service Recognition Week visit http://publicservicerecognitionweek.org

PHI ALPHA ALPHA

INDUCTEES

JacQuitta Beeks

Tyler Blakely

Carlos Encarnacion

Lindsay Escalante

Leonides Gomez Jr.

Moaz Khan

Jordan Macha

Jose Olvera

Lisa Paiz

Sarah Pressler

Zohaib Qadri

Sergio Vasquez

Julia Webber

BALANOFF FAMILY

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Tajudeen Basiru

Ashley Burkett

Todd Podbielski

Natasha Thomas

Abigail Trahan

Catherine Wicker

Ricardo Zavala

1110


STUDENT LIFE IN THE MPA PROGRAM

Tajudeen Basiru is currenly a graduate student in the MPA program at Texas State University. He was recently awarded the Honor Society Phi Kappa Phi’s Love of Learning Award 2017. Nicole Foy is also a current MPA student who attended The BICIUS Conference in November, 2017.

My name is Tajudeen Basiru, an international student from

Nigeria. I started my Master of Public Administration

(MPA) at Texas State in Fall, 2016. I have an MD from

Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria and a few years

of working experience mainly with non-profit organiza-

tions that care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Some

of my recent awards include Graduate Scholarship Award

(2017/2018), Balanoff Family Scholarship Award (2017),

Barney and Linda Knight Scholarship Award (2017) and

now the Phi Kappa Phi 2017- Love of Learning Award.

I applied for the Phi Kappa Phi 2017- Love of Learning

Award. It was not difficult as I made my application almost

at the last minute when I realized it was the only award

I was eligible for. In my opinion, my resume was prob-

ably the most important factor in the selection process.

I would advise any student applying to watch the time

line, the eligibility criteria and most importantly format

their resume in a very professional manner. I plan to use

the funds from this award to supplement payment of my

tuition at Texas State.

Tajudeen Basiru

Nicole Foy In March of 2017 I made the decision to separate from the

Navy after serving eight fulfilling years on active duty. I

decided to relocate to Texas and attend grad school. I was

accepted to Texas State’s MPA program from my duty

station in Italy. As fate would have it, with this acceptance

letter came a call from Dr. Patricia Shields offering me a

wonderful opportunity. She was and is currently the editor

of Armed Forces & Society, a quarterly, peer-reviewed

academic publication. Dr. Shields offered me a job as her

research/editorial assistant and under favorable circum-

stances I gladly accepted her offer.

This position has opened my eyes allowing me to see a

whole new world pertaining to the military. The journal

publishes scholarly articles, book reviews, and research

notes encompassing many aspects of the military that also

tie together with public policy and public administration.

This interdisciplinary, international journal has provided

me the opportunity to work with military scholars and

leaders throughout the world.

In November 2017, The Biennial International Conference

of the Inter-University Seminar (IUS) on Armed Forces

and Society was held. I attended the DC conference to

assist at the editorial board meeting and to connect with

Armed Forces & Society authors. There were many

panels held at the conference that covered current and the-

oretical issues, utilized qualitative/quantitative methods,

historical and comparative perspectives, and policy rele-

vant themes by applying cutting edge research. The con-

ference presented opportunity for remarks and dynamic

commentary issues such as veterans, special operations

1312


When I agreed to take on the challenges of congre-

gation president at Abiding Love Lutheran Church in

2016-17, I had no idea how useful my public admin-

istration background would be. As president, I led the

council in familiar public administration functions

such as setting agendas, passing budgets, formulat-

ing policy, planning and staff hiring. My knowledge

of basic PA helped me feel comfortable and at home

with these responsibilities.

Church congregations make up almost 20 percent

of all nonprofit organizations in the US. Like all

nonprofits, they engage in activities such as fund-

raising, volunteer management, staffing, organiza-

tional communication and policy development. I

was happy to draw upon my knowledge of PA and

the experience as MPA Director to meet these chal-

lenges at Abiding Love.

I took over as president when the church had begun

to move away from traditional governance to policy

based governance. A policy based framework allows

for a council that focuses on strategic goals and

program evaluation. Under the traditional struc-

ture the council was responsible for program details

and was often bogged down in minor details of a

program event (what time to start the church yard

sale). This crowded out time that should be devoted

to long run concerns like mission and evaluation. It

LEADING A FAITH-

BASED NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION APPLYING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY BASED APPROACHES BY PATRICIA SHIELDS

forces, military families, military contractors, women

in the military, and the relationship between the presi-

dent and his military advisors. The conference helped

me recognize that success does not solely depend on

obtaining academic credentials, but also on the quality

of knowledge contributions.

Dr. Patricia Shields has served as editor-in-chief of

Armed Forces & Society, which is rated seven among

military studies journals, since 2001. Dr. Shields has

proven to be a prolific scholar, publishing four books

and over sixty book chapters and peer-reviewed journal

articles on topics such as military recruitment, civil-

military relations, gender integration, military privati-

zation, veterans, peace studies, peacekeeping, conscrip-

tion, military bureaucracy, and military organization

theory. Dr. Shields is an influential scholar and teacher.

Dr. Shields was recognized for her contribution to

knowledge about civil-military relations at the confer-

ence through the Morris Janowitz Career Achievement

Award. This award is reserved for a select few scholars.

As an MPA student it is an honor to have had the

opportunity to attend this conference and work for Dr.

Shields. It was good to see a Texas State MPA faculty

receive this kind of international recognition. Other

MPA students who have served as editorial assistants for

Armed Forces & Society include: Zohaib Qadri, Colin

Smith, Travis Whetsell, Christie Pogue, Nick Johnson,

and Jacob Rodriguez.

1514


also meant that church leadership were spending an

extraordinary amount of time in meetings (36 – 55 a

year for the president). This was ineffective, ineffi-

cient and made recruitment of new council difficult.

I read useful books like Governance and Ministry by

Daniel Hotchkiss and Inside the Large Congregation

by Susan Beaumont as the church considered a radical

revision of the constitution. Although churches face

unique challenges, these books seemed very comfort-

able because they applied many familiar ideas from

public administration (particularly strategic planning)

to church governance change.

The church used many research techniques famil-

iar to public administrators such as survey research,

document analysis and small group discussion.

Since, like all public administration programs,

decisions should reflect and be informed by the

people we serve, this research was critical to our

efforts. Myself and those responsible for the gover-

nance change spent many hours in small and large

group meetings with members of the congregation

learning and explaining the new system. Our time

was rewarded by a unanimous vote to change the

constitution.

As 2018 approached, I was happy to turn over the

reins to a new president and a reconfigured smaller

council. I also was pleased to see how much of the

experience was informed by my life as a public

administration professor. I am eager to apply this

experience, all of the reading and future reading

to educate students about non profit management.

Bibliography:

Beaumont, Susan. (2014). Inside the Large Congregation. Herndon VA: Alban Institute

Hotchkiss, Daniel. (2016). Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Mann, Alice. (2001). Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition. Herndon VA: Alban Institute

DIVERSITY The current cohort of MPA students is diverse with 31% of

Hispanic/Latino students, 16% African American Students,

46% white students and 4% from other ethnicities. Apart

from a strong commitment to maintain a diverse student

body, the Texas State MPA program uses a multi-pronged

approach to promote a climate of inclusivity. Our university

offers the “Allies Training” program which helps “partici-

pants with information and resources that will help eliminate

myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes often associated

with LGBTQIA persons”. Dr. Emily Hanks, Dr. Thomas

Longoria and Dr. Nandhini Rangarajan have completed this

training and are now formally recognized as “Allies” of

Texas State University. Dr. Patricia Shields represented us

at the Executive Women in Texas Government Conference

to understanding the working climate for female admin-

istrators in the state and to inform potential female MPA

students about our program. Our faculty also participate

in the Conference of Minority Public Administrators and

in ASPA’s Section for Women in Public Administration.

Our students work on Applied Research Projects that relate

to diversity and inclusivity issues. Dr. Mitchell Sellers,

MPA alum featured in this edition completed a project

entitled “Discrimination and the Transgender Population:

A Description of Local Government Policies that

Protect Gender Identity or Expression”. MPA Alum

Samantha Park, worked on a project entitled “Female

City Managers in Texas: A Content Analysis of Resumes

to Identify Successful Career Path Trends”. We, as a

faculty are committed to giving our students a culmi-

nating experience that is personally meaningful and one

which deepens faculty and students’ understanding of

diversity and multicultural issues in public administra-

tion through the research process.

University Enrollment by Ethnicity 2017-2018

White 47%

Hispanic/Latino 36%

Black/African American 11%

Other Race 5%

Texas State MPA Enrollment by Ethnicity 2017-2018

White 46%

Hispanic/Latino 31%

Black/African American 16%

Other Race 4%

1716


On September 29th, 2017 Dr. Howard Balanoff cohosted the

National Academy of Public Administration Conference:

Governing Across the Divide: Innovations in Local

Government at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The

Universtiy of Texas in Austin, Texas. Dr. Balanoff repre-

sented Texas State University's William P. Hobby Center

for Public Service.

The conference consisted of guest speakers including Julian

Castro, former secretary of Housing & Urban Development,

Harvey Kronberg of the Quorum Report, Dustin Haisler

who is Chief Innovation Officer and Publisher of Governing

magazine and Government technology magazine.

Two Texas State Alumni attended this event. Larry Gonzales

is a member of the Texas House of Representatives for

House District 52. Larry graduated with his Master’s

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Degree in Public Administration in 2014. Another Notable

alumnus that attended was Brenda Eivens. Brenda has

served as the City Manager for Cedar Park since 2006.

Both Larry and Brenda served on the plenary panel hosting

discussions about Innovative Policy Solutions Instituted

by Local Government: Focus on State-Local Relations,

Economic Development and, Immigrat ion.

1918


On May 22nd the Department of

Political Science partnered with

the law firm DNRBHZ (Denton,

Navarro, Rocha, Bernal, Hyde &

Zech, P.C.) to host the 14th Annual

Hog Wild conference. The Hog

Wild conference is a “free con-

tinuing education seminar ener-

gizing local government officials

& employees”. The Department

invited graduate students to attend

as well, to utilize the opportu-

nity for learning about local gov-

ernment and networking. Deputy

Secretary of State Coby Shorter

III was the keynote speaker, and

breakout sessions included topics

such as legislative updates, issues

facing police departments, devel-

opment concerns and issues, drone

use, and home rule initiatives.

Four graduates from the Master in

Public Administration program,

panelists Samantha Alexander,

Kyle Carvell, Ricardo Zavala,

and Jennifer Strahl, presented in

a session “Texas State University

Graduate Student Research Panel

Presentation”. Additionally, Dr.

Grasso, Chair of the Political

Science Department, Dr. Shields,

Director of the Master of Public

Administration Program, Dr.

Crossett, Director of the Master

of Legal Studies Program, Dr.

Longoria, Director of the Center

for Research, Public Policy

& Training, and Dr. Balanoff,

Director of the William P. Hobby

Center for Public Service, all

gave remarks and some also led

sessions.

By: Amy Perry

To learn more about the Center for Research, Public Policy, and Training, contact Dr. Tom Longoria at [email protected]

HOG WILD CONFERENCE

2120


Texas State faculty member Thomas Longoria in the

department of Political Science is currently conduct-

ing research on San Marcos’ poverty levels. According

to the 2010-2015 poverty rate estimate, 37 percent of

San Marcos residents were living in poverty. That esti-

mate falls to 23 percent when students are taken out

of the census data.

Longoria wrote a book titled, “Understanding Poverty

in San Marcos, Texas: A Comparative Perspective.” In

the book, Longoria said, “In 2015, San Marcos marked

a third consecutive year with the notable distinction of

being the fastest growing city in the U.S. Despite this

population growth, San Marcos also has the unfortu-

nate distinction of having nearly 40 percent of the pop-

ulation living below the federal poverty level.”

In his research, Longoria has seen that as student

poverty is declining, non-student poverty continues

to rise.

“I’ve found that the student poverty rate is actually

going down, and the non-student poverty rate is going

up,” Longoria said. “We don’t know why. More research

has to be done by really talking to students and non-

students themselves, but there’s no speculation that the

employment for non-students, part time employment,

might be more favorable. And as a result, students are

employing themselves out of poverty, where as non-

students are still facing some structural unemployment

or underemployment problems.”

While Longoria writes that, “In general, the poverty

rate in a college town is often “discounted” because

students are included in the U.S. Census calculation

of the poverty rate.

Student poverty is indeed different from non-student

poverty because college student poverty is viewed as a

voluntary and temporary condition and is therefore not

a public policy problem but rather a condition of the

individual’s student status,” he still believes that student

poverty is an issue that he would like to research further.

According to Longoria, “national evidence that hunger

and homelessness among college students is a growing

problem.”

“The issues of student poverty are really important,”

Longoria said. “Student poverty is still poverty. A

number of cities have begun to wrestle with the chal-

lenge of college student poverty. There are issues with

students that are going to food banks or seeking public

assistance because, while they’re students, they’re still

dealing with housing instability and food insecurity.”

This distinction of this high poverty rate has a chain

effect on the economic climate of San Marcos.

“These stories in part shape perceptions of San Marcos

and these perceptions influence decisions on business

relocation and retention, real estate development, and

the decisions of individuals and families seeking a new

community in a fast-growing region,” Longoria stated

in his research.

As more people migrate to San Marcos, the poverty esti-

mates statistics continue to change.

“One of the things that I’ve found which I thought is

quite interesting is that the poverty in San Marcos seems

to be shifting a little bit from certain neighborhoods to

PROFESSOR RESEARCHES SAN MARCOS’ POVERTY

By Josie Soehnge, The University Star, October 2017

other neighborhoods,” Longoria said. “As people come

to live in the community, they bring with them certain

packages of employment and family structure and

things like that that make it less likely for them to be

in poverty, so we do have this general sense that there

are people moving into San Marcos, and where they

move and their income is going to affect the poverty

rates on the sub-city level. So there is definitely some

change going on in the city on that basis.”

Longoria believes that this flow of people into San

Marcos could be due to unaffordable housing in Austin.

“My speculation is that people in the city of Austin are

getting priced out of affordable housing,” Longoria

said. “A lot of them might be moving to San Marcos

due to a supply of affordable housing for sale or for

rent. So, San Marcos is going to be an attractive place

2322


For the last 13 years, the Department of Political

Science has been offering graduate and undergraduate

students the opportunity to take a few of their courses

through our study abroad program in Barcelona,

Spain. Study abroad courses expand global perspec-

tive and cultural awareness of aspiring students. As

an undergraduate student you can sign up for POSI

2310, 2320, or take an Independent Study course to

count toward your degree. Graduate students also

can take a Direct Reading and Research course in this

program as part of their degree. Study abroad courses

are both educational and fun.

Our study abroad program is always offered during

the Summer II session every year. In this program

we travel to the historic cities of Tarragona, Gerona,

Figueres and Barcelona as well as Montserrat, and

Dali museum. In these travels we learn about the

history and politics of Europe as well as the many

forms of arts that has marked the civilization of the

west. In short, our study abroad program is not

limited to the learning of the assigned course text-

books but exploring the textbook of past and present

life in Europe.

Students and their professors will stay in the beauti-

ful apartments of Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona

for the duration of our stay. The cost of the program

for 6 hours of credit is about $3,000 for the summer

II, session. Dr. Hassan Tajalli is the director of

this program. If you have any questions about this

program, please do not hesitate to contact him at

[email protected] or drop by his office in UAC 377.

BARCELONA 2017

for people to move when they’re escaping higher costs

of housing in Austin.”

“The picture is not all doom and gloom,” Longoria said.

“I think that the city of San Marcos did a pretty good

job holding poverty rates stable over that period of time

(during economic crisis of early 2000’s), because there

were definitely some economic attractions during that

period. So that is positive.”

Longoria presented his research to City Council on Oct.

3 to educate council members and begin to discuss a

plan for combating poverty in San Marcos.

2524


Graduate student, Allison Morris, attended the program,

using the opportunity to complete a directed reading

class related to her Applied Research Project (ARP) for

the Masters in Public Administration program. Morris’

research focused Catalonia’s mental health system. In

addition to their classes, the students explored ancient

ruins, modern cities, and eclectic architectures crafted

over millennia, and learned about the challenges facing

contemporary Europe. The landmarks they visited

include the Roman city, Tarragona. “It had so much

history starting in the Roman era and through the

medieval time, and it was so beautiful,” Morris said.

Another favorite location was Montserrat, an ancient,

yet active Benedictine monastery carved into the side

of the Montserrat mountain range. “It was originally

a Roman shrine to the gods. It was turned into a mon-

astery, a hermitage. It was an amazing architectural

feat,” Morris recalled. Robert Rodriguez, a sophomore

majoring in Exercise and Sports Science, described the

excursions as his favorite part of the program. “We

went to ruins of cities. It was like looking at a map

before and after and seeing how the city was remod-

eled over centuries,” he reported.

2726


James Harkins graduated with his Master of Public

Administration in 2010 from Texas State University. When

starting his Masters Degree James was already working

for a state agency and wanted to advance in his career.

Obtaining an MPA was the right move at that time for him.

At the age of 27, he was promoted only a couple months

after graduating from the program.

One of the requirements of the program is to complete an

ARP. Harkins said that doing the ARP helped him with

his career in the public service by teaching him how to do

in-depth research and how to establish policies based on

the findings of research. Harkins had a lot of time to work

with Dr. Shields and other students while completing his

Masters. Having the connections with professors and fellow

students have helped him build professional relationships.

These two aspects were the most valuable thing the MPA

program has taught him.

If he had any advice for current and future students of the

program, it would be “Don’t let the ARP intimidate you.

Think of it more as a challenge, if it was easy and everyone

could do it, the degree wouldn’t be worth it.”

Harkins is currently the Director of Public Services for the

Archives and Records of the Texas General Land Office.

(GLO)Part of the job requires talking about all the things

he loves, Texas History and maps.

He’s working on raising money and awareness for his

organization so they can continue to conserve historic

documents of our state and maps. He is also working on

coordinating the Annual Symposium which consists of

engaging in social media and getting the knowledge into

classrooms. You can learn more about the program at

wwww.savetexashistory.org or follow the GLO’s Facebook

page, www.facebook.com/txglo

HARKINS

2928


JASON AND SAMANTHAALEXANDER

“We pursued our MPAs because we both have a

passion for public service and truly wanted to do

everything we could to be the best at our craft. We

plan to continue our careers in the public sector for

the foreseeable future, or at least a related field. The

Texas State University MPA programmed served us

both well. Most importantly, we were able to start

our careers with the City of Austin while simultane-

ously pursuing our MPAs. The ability to go to school

at night truly created the best atmosphere for us to

thrive! This allowed us to immediately apply our

knowledge, and also bring real life case studies to

the classroom. The best advice we’d give to current

or future students is to jump in. Find a public agency

that you’re passionate about and start your career—

whether it’s a job, internship or volunteer opportu-

nity, any experience will help guide your learning so

you can really get what you need from the program.

Life is pretty busy for us both right now! Professionally,

Jason works for the City of Austin and they are under-

taking their Strategic Plan and CodeNEXT, a massive

re-write of the City’s land use and development code.

Samantha works for the Austin Independent School

District which just passed a large bond referendum.

When she returns to work she’ll continue working

on that program as well as marketing and outreach

efforts. Personally, we just welcomed our first son

which has been our greatest life experience thus far.”

3130


MITCHELL SELLERS

I started the program wanting to work in human

resources, with particular interest in diversity in

government. Much of my research focuses on inclu-

sion in government and its effects on policymaking

across the states.

My ARP is actually what led me to the doctoral

program at the University of Florida. This is where

I first started to collect my own data and ask my

own research questions. Dr. Shields’ high standards

and insightful feedback helped me to realize how

critical research design is in policy analysis. It was

challenging and a lot of nights, but writing the ARP

taught me how to conduct robust research. Better

yet, it taught me how to frame my research in a

way that gets everyone interested in social justice

issues and policymaking, which is part of the battle

in governance.

I adivse current students to envision their short-

term and long-term career goals immediately. This

program has a lot of great resources and contacts,

but it is also up to you to be proactive to make the

most of the program. When you sign up for classes

or internships, don’t do it just because it is conve-

nient. Try to do things that help you work towards

your career goals. That way you are positioning your-

self well for after graduation. Also, speak to the pro-

fessors about their research and ask for their advice.

For your ARP, work with an advisor that you can

relate to, but will also challenge you to make the

final project better.

My most valuable experiences in the program were

my internship and writing my ARP. I worked for the

Capital Improvements Department in San Marcos,

which gave me perspective of how small to moderate

sized cities function. It also let me put some of my

newly developed skills on budgeting and personnel

management to practice. As mentioned already, the

ARP really got me to see that research is important

and can lead to government changing their practices.

I am an Assistant Professor at Temple University,

where I teach courses on American politics and public

policy. One project I am working on is about services

available to homeless transgender youth and potential

reforms state and local governments should make to

address their needs. I am also currently working on

a book about when and why governors use executive

orders. I look at the political motivators that encour-

age executive orders, such as partisan control of the

state legislature and gubernatorial power, but I also

consider how these orders shape policy within the

state.

I decided to pursue my MPA shortly after graduating with

my undergraduate degree in Political Science. By that

time, I was very active with the Transgender Foundation

of America, which provides support and services to trans-

gender individuals, as well as their loved ones. I was able

to see firsthand how state and local government shaped

people’s lives by seeing the hardships transgender indi-

viduals faced.

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Fall 2016

Juan P. AlemanJesse Ancira

Evelyn T. AndersonDavid BeckerleyPhillip Fountain

katy ReaganAmy RuthrauffGeorge Sanders

Luke Scott

David AndersonBradley BarrettChristian Duran

Travon Earl Kari Fontenot

Leonides GomezVanessa HawleyTimothy Henry

Christopher HoersterCameron Keel

Summer 2017

JacQuitta BeeksTyler Blakey

Princesstara CatoOdis Favors

David MolinaLisa Paiz

Andre PriceJacob Roper

Fall 2017

Jessica AnciraReginald BrooksMichelle CollinsJohn CrawfordOtinetta Eddie

Rebecca MiearsJemmy Mondragon

Ricardo Zavala

Moaz KhanNima KhazeiJordan Macha

Nicholas MarksJasmine McDaniel

Sharon MixonZohaib Qadri

Christopher RobertsonLana Sveda

Sergio Vasquez

Spring 2017

Tajudeen BasiruI had my internship with the City of San Marcos Neighborhood Services between November and December 2017. One of the most intriguing experiences I had was when I took a major role in designing the Residential Parking Permit (RPP) program for a neighborhood. So I learnt that I could contribute, even with my paltry experience.

Ian AllisonMy time at the Meadow's Center was absolutely wonderful! I learned a lot about the more complicated details that go into scheduling and organizing efforts for such a successful organi-zation, both in terms of education/outreach and overall research and policy agenda. The most exciting part for me was finding the perfect topic for my ARP that comes directly from the research I did while I was at the Meadow's Center.

Andrea SaizThe most exciting part of my internship experience was getting hands on experience working for a City and learning how their finance department worked. I have never worked for any type of government agency and was excited to gain the experience and knowledge for a prospective job in the future. The City I interned with was great, and not only did I get to know their work pro-cesses but their employees were all very welcoming, friendly, and helpful. The absolute best part of my internship, was getting a permanent position with them this February.

3534


Barcelona, Spain Summer 2018

PROGRAM DATESDeparture from USA: July 8th, 2018First day of class (abroad): July 10th, 2018Last day of class (abroad): August 8th, 2018Return from program: August 9th, 2018

COURSE OPTIONSPOSI 2310 Principles of American GovernmentPOSI 2320 Functions of American GovernmentPOSI 4379 Independent Study PA 5388 Directed Reading and Research PA 5398 Directed Reading and Research

For more information contact:Dr. Hassan Tajalli [email protected]

DR. BRIAN WITHROW MPA GRADUATE, SCHOLAR, AUTHORBY DR. PATRCIA SHIELDS

Dr. Brian Withrow (MPA 1993) began his

career in public service as a Texas State

Trooper in 1981. Today he is a Texas State

University Criminal Justice Professor. In the

interim, he completed an MPA at Texas State

and in the process developed an interest in

research having published six books and over

20 journal articles and book chapters. Aside

from his recognized expertise in racial profil-

ing (3 books and multiple articles), Brian has

written an innovative research methods book

designed for the online classroom (Research

Methods in Crime and Justice). In it he high-

lights the use of notebooks as an organizing

tool for research projects. His book came out

the same year as the Playbook for Research

Methods co-authored by Dr. Rangrajan and

myself. As Brian’s ARP supervisor, I could

not be prouder with the way he has used and

extended all he learned in his Texas State

research methods and ARP classes.

2018

3736


Shields, P. (2017). Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration. New York: Springer.

Brown, C. R. (Accepted / In Press). A Litigious Proposal: A Citizen’s Duty to Challenge Climate Change in the Courts. In P. G. Harris (Ed.), Ethics, Environmental Justice, and Climate Change (First, pp. 385–457). 10 Heatherley Road, Camberley, Surrey,GU15 3LW UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hanks, E. K., & Hanks, J. C. (2017). Ethics and communication: The essence of human behavior. In Nano-safety: What we need to know to protect workers. Berlin, Germany: DeGruyter.

Longoria, T., Budd, D. M., & Manganaro, L. L. (2017). Support for Gender Equality Duty Strategies among Local Government Officials in Texas. In Beyond Reform: Leadership and Change in Public Sector Organizations. Routledge (Taylor and Francis).

Rahm, D. (Accepted / In Press). Fracking and the Politics of Shale Gas and Oil Development. In A. Sapat (Ed.), Handbook of Environmental Governance. New York, New York: Routledge.

Shields, P. (Accepted / In Press). Ambidexterity: Resolving Contradictions in Military Organizations. In R. Beeres, I. van Kememade, J. van der Meulen, & R. Moelker (Eds.), Ambidextrous Organizations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Springer.

Shields, P., & Whetsell, T. (2017). Public Administration Methodology: A Pragmatic Perspective. In Foundations of Public Administration (pp. 75–92). New York: Melvin & Leigh.

Shields, P. M. (2017). An Introduction to the Life of Jane Addams. In Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration (pp. 3–16). New York: Springer.

Shields, P. M. (2017). Jane Addams: Peace Activist and Peace Theorist. In Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration (pp. 32–42). Springer.

Shields, P. M. (2017). Jane Addams: Pioneer in American Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration. In Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration (pp. 43–68). Springer.

Shields, P. M. (2017). Jane Addams: Public Philosopher and Practicing Feminist Pragmatist,. In Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration (pp. 17–30).

Fields, W. M., Fields, B., Wagner, J., & Thomas, J. (2017). Living with Water in the Era of Climate Change: Innovation and Limitation in the Planning and Rebuilding of New Orleans. Journal of Planning, Education, and Research. Accepted / In Press.

Rahm, D. (2017). The U.S. Political Climate and Shale Gas and Oil Development. Humanities and Social Sciences Review, 7(2), 478–488.

Rangarajan, N. & Joshi, S. (2017). Sustainability Education in Public Administration and Policy: A Multi-Method Study of NASPAA Accredited Programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education. Accepted/In Press.

Shields, P. (2017). The Limits of Negative Peace, The Faces of Positive Peace. Parameters, 47(3), 1–12.

Shields, P. M., & Travis, D. (2017). Achieving Organizational Flexibility through Ambidexterity. Parameters: US Army War College Quarterly, 47(2), 65–76.

Shields, P., & Soeters, J. (2017). Peaceweaving: Jane Addams, posi-tive peace, and Public Administration. American Review of Public Administration, 47(3), 323–339.

DeSoto, W. H., Tajalli, H., Pino, N. W., & Smith, C. L. (Accepted / In Press). The Effect of College Students’ Religious Involvement on Their Academic Ethic. Religion and Education.

Brady, G., & Tajalli, H. (Accepted / In Press). An Analysis of Educators Sanctioned for Misconduct. Journal of Research in Education.

Tajalli, H., & Marta, O. (2017). An examination of Hispanic college enroll-ment and graduation: Has the Texas Closing the Gaps plan been suc-cessful? Journal of Latinos and Education.

Tajalli, H., & Alejandra Pena. (Accepted / In Press). Sports Tourism Does not have to be Accompanied by Crimes: A case for the NFL Super Bowl. Journal of Sport & Tourism.

Pino, N. W., Tajalli, H., Smith, C. L., & DeSoto, W. H. (2017). Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs by College Students for Recreational and Instrumental Purposes: Assessing the Differences. Journal of Drug Issues, 47(4), 606–621.

Tajalli, H., & Alejandra, P. (2017). Sports Tourism Does not have to be Accompanied by Crime: A Case for the NFL Super Bowl. Journal of Sports and Tourism, 21(1), 15–32.

Rahm, D. (2017, March 5). Population Growth Has Challenges, p. 6A.

Rahm, D. (2017, February 12). 2016 Was the Warmest on Record, p. 4A.

Rahm, D. (2017, January 1). How Green is the Incoming Team?, p. 5A.

2017-2018

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Director, Public Administration Program

Composed of alumni, faculty, and students, the Public Administration Advisory Council informs the Program Director of current and past experiences in the program, as well as needs in the public sector, to ensure the program is responsive to students and trends within the workplace.

Alumni Representatives

Magdalena Blanco

Larry Douglas (Chair)

Christian Duran

Brenda Eivens

Collette Jamison

Howard Thrasher

Alejandra Pena

Rebecca Pence

Christie Pogue

James Quintero

Lane Raffray

Tamela Saladana

Student Representatives

Christina Barbour

Nicole Foy

Shifa Lateef

Morgan Moore

Katie Orr

PA Practitioners

Rebecca Davio

Susan Johnson

Public Administation Magazine (2017-2018)

texas state university mpa magazine1cdff231-71a4-41e5...12 13 mpa, texas state university 2017...

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